Old Head: Ivan Robinson is still paying it forward

PHILADELPHIA’S former light-weight contender Ivan Robinson is now 51 and taking it upon himself to verify the Philadelphia approach is handed right down to future generations.

For many, Philly is a combat city initially and being the City of Brotherly comes second with the Liberty Bell and the Rocky steps tied for third.

Robinson was a embellished beginner who received and misplaced in a number of contests with a younger Oscar De La Hoya, in the end failing to qualify for the 1992 Olympics, however the Philly hopeful additionally fought future skilled notables together with Thomas Damgaard, Michael Clark and Julian Wheeler, boxing in tournaments across the globe together with Australia, Italy, Russia and Puerto Rico.

But Robinson’s actual grounding got here within the Philadelphia gyms, the place character is born and self-discipline is formed.

Robinson didn’t simply study the Philly playbook, he studied the historical past. He knew what was anticipated of him when he boxed in entrance of the educated Philly followers, who demanded aggressive fights in an effort to half with their cash on the Blue Horizon and on the National Guard Armory.

“We had that grit, we had that will, it was like a tractor trailer pulling cars,” Robinson stated, fortunately recalling how arduous it was to make it as a hungry up and comer. “We would switch into whatever gear we had to to make it happen, and that’s where I was at. That’s where [Charles] Brewer was at, that’s where Bennie Briscoe was at. It’s just different now. You’ve got Stephen Fulton, you’ve got Jaron Ennis, they’re a different breed now. Those guys are not trying to get hit, those guys are trying not be in wars. Now, I’m not saying they need to, but when it comes down to it… It’s like being in the army. They teach you how to prepare for war. If a war happens, you’ve got to be ready, regardless of whether it’s going to be your life or someone else’s.”

Robinson didn’t have it simple. On his approach up there have been fights with opponents who have been 20-4, 12-2-2, 20-4, 14-4-1 and 7-1. There have been no free passes, and Ivan defeated 14-0 Panamanian Demetrio Ceballos for the USBA light-weight title in October 1995. Robinson additionally beat an rising Emanuel Augustus, then misplaced his shot at a world belt to Australian veteran Philip Holiday for the IBF crown. A second consecutive defeat, to the first rate Israel Cardona, maybe meant Arturo Gatti’s braintrust felt Robinson had peaked and would possibly go quietly. They bought it flawed.

Robinson and Gatti fought two wars inside 4 months in Atlantic City in 1998 and Robinson was a scorching property once more. He climbed off the ground from a fourth-round knockdown to beat Gatti by way of break up choice within the Fight of the Year and the Upset of the Year, and Ivan received the rematch on factors.

While Robinson was proud to earn the honours of being concerned in that historic first brawl specifically, he noticed himself as extra of a boxer than a blood and guts soldier.

“I practically was a boxer,” Robinson insisted. “I tried not to get into brawls when I didn’t have to. But as people can see in the Gatti fights, he took me there. The first Gatti fight was like a respect fight. I love Gatti. I knew him before we fought each other and I never thought we would fight each other, but the first fight… At the press conference he told me he would knock me out and then he told me, ‘I don’t bring knives to a gunfight.’ That really made me mad, and he said he was going to beat me up and all that. I think, in the back of Gatti’s head, he knew he couldn’t beat me. There was no way he could have beaten me. The only way he could have beaten me was if he knocked me out, which he almost did in the 10^th round… that never worked. But I had to get that respect, that’s why in that first fight there was a lot of back and forth. He hit me, I hit him and going in to the fight, I just didn’t care. I wanted to beat him so bad that it didn’t matter what I had to do or how I had to do it.”

Robinson might need already seen and performed rather a lot by then. He might need been roughed up within the Philly gyms, and he might need performed a few of the roughing up himself, however there is no approach of realizing when you have the depth of braveness wanted to outlive a Fight of the Year with somebody like Gatti, who lived for wars like that.

“Not everyone can do it,” Robinson defined. “Not everyone has the guts to do it. Everyone doesn’t have the heart to do it and everyone doesn’t have the will. That was the thing I loved about Gatti – when I didn’t fight him! – was that his heart was so big, and he always said that he would die in the ring. Well, I understand that. I just thought I was that skilful that I knew that if I really got tired, really got hurt and I couldn’t bounce back or throw no punches, I knew how to hold, make the ref give time to break me. I was always in condition, [and] my will was something. I’m from Philly. We don’t care. We come hard.”

But for all the profession momentum after two extraordinary wins over the long run Hall of Famer, Robinson misplaced his first bout of 1999 to Angel Manfredy, who was rebounding from his personal defeat to Floyd Mayweather.

Robinson contends his thoughts wasn’t on the job. He didn’t assume the Manfredy combat was going to occur when it was agreed, maybe he was eating out on the Gatti victories and when he crashed the load off, Robinson wasn’t in the identical form or situation he had been for Gatti, even when the scales learn the identical.

“Angel is a great fighter,” Robinson conceded. “He’s a great friend of mine, but I’ll tell you I’m not one to bite my tongue, I don’t sugarcoat nothing. Manfredy got a gift, because I wasn’t the Ivan Robinson that fought Arturo Gatti. If I was that Ivan Robinson, Manfredy would have never beat me. At that time, I felt I was a little more skilled than Floyd and Floyd wasn’t as skilled as I was, and Floyd beat him. Even though Floyd was lighter than I was at the time [super-feather], Floyd beat him and knocked him out and at that time I threw way more combinations than Floyd and I was pretty accurate with everything I threw.”

Manfredy beat Robinson by way of a large choice over 10 rounds, then referred to as out Mayweather for a rematch that by no means occurred and Robinson went about his personal enterprise, making an attempt to get again on monitor. There have been a few wins to shut out the yr however by 2000 he was changing into blue nook fodder, served as much as high quality fighters like Antonio Diaz, Vivian Harris (whom Robinson managed a draw in opposition to) and Jesse James Leija.
Robinson’s decline was stereotypical in that the majority of the losses got here on the finish of his profession, together with his heyday within the rearview mirror. His final 14 fights got here between 2000 and 2008 and he misplaced 9 of them when he’d solely misplaced three in his total profession beforehand.

There have been defeats to Chucky T, Michael Stewart and, in 2005, to Julio Cesar Chavez. By then, additionally stereotypically, Robinson’s fights have been on and off, his profession was stop-start till a last loss in far-flung Idaho.

It had been a stellar profession and Robinson was content material with how it turned out.

“I wanted to fight Shane Mosley, I wanted to fight Floyd [Mayweather], those are the only two guys I really wanted to fight,” Robinson stated, of those who bought away.

“Life after boxing has been good to me. I have no problems. My son is a basketball player, hopefully he gets drafted to the NBA, Ivan Robinson Jnr.”

Robinson additionally trains boxers in Philadelphia. He works with heavyweight Dominique Mayfield and a few amateurs who’re set to go professional.

“It is tough not being able to do the things I used to do,” Ivan admitted. “I see some young fighters and think, ‘Damn, I did that stuff 30 years ago.’ And I get the itch, where I want to hit the bags and everything, but after three or four rounds I think I’ll just sit down and stick to coaching!”

Robinson smiles. He is not simply from a metropolis of wealthy preventing historical past, however he’s from a metropolis that has spawned some wonderful trainers, together with George Benton and Bouie Fisher. Robinson is now one of many veterans giving again to the younger crop of boxers coming via, and he enjoys watching Philly’s high canine like Stephen Fulton and Boots Ennis even when he admits the sport has modified from his time.

Robinson doesn’t look previous but, there are just a few gray flecks in his hair and his goatee, however he has been across the boxing block just a few instances and has lots to impart to the following era.

“Everybody in the gym has respect for me and all the young boys are calling me Old Head, so I’ll sit down, keep watching the guys come through, hopefully grow some champions and train and manage some,” Robinson, who referred to as it a day after 32 wins (12 stoppages), 12 losses and two attracts, continued. “But boxing has been good to me. Everybody asks me if I would do it over again. I would definitely do it over again, the only thing I would do differently – and a lot of people don’t know this – my dad was with me from when I was five. I got married at 22 and me and him got into a dispute and I fired him, that is about the only thing I would ever change. I would have kept him, because if I kept my dad, I might have had a fabulous career. I had a great career, I fought some of the best guys in my division. I fought Julio Cesar Chavez, I never ever thought I would fight that man. He fought Meldrick [Taylor] and Meldrick lived four blocks from me, we were close, but I never thought I would get the chance to fight Chavez, but it happened. So my career was great. I saved my money, I’m not as rich as Floyd but I’m doing okay.”